Run Run Run
by Woodyyo
Summary: "GET THE FUCK BACK HERE DANNY" Danny didn't turn around. He kept running as fast as he could. His left eye was throbbing. His legs were starting to hurt from sprinting – something which he was not used to. He wasn't fit enough to keep this up – in a cruel flash of irony his brain reminded him that if he was fit he wouldn't be in this situation at all. (M for swears)


Run Run Run

"GET THE FUCK BACK HERE DANNY"

Danny didn't turn around. He kept running as fast as he could. His left eye was throbbing. His legs were starting to hurt from sprinting – something which he was not used to. He wasn't fit enough to keep this up – in a cruel flash of irony his brain reminded him that if he was fit he wouldn't be in this situation at all.  
Danny's foot clipped a piece of cement, he didn't have time to brace himself before hitting the ground. With a reverberating thud, Danny's world went black.

Danny reached his teens as an awkward, quiet and introverted boy. He wasn't disliked by any of his classmates, but he didn't have anyone who he would consistently sit with at lunch time, or go play with when school was out. It wasn't by choice, he just... couldn't _click_ with any of the people his age. Whenever he tried to become friends with a person, to step the line between knowing each others names and hanging out at the mall, he came off as boring. And Danny knew that he wasn't a boring person, he just couldn't find a way to show people that. So he turned to his computer. He played games, and when his Mom wouldn't give him money for a new one, he borrowed a book from the library and started making his own. Basic stuff, but rewarding nonetheless. This kept him entertained for a while, playing with javascript and C++ . After years of nagging, his mom finally caved on getting an internet connection, and Danny's life changed. He found out that he could go on forums and talk to people about computers, about programming. And Danny was good at it. It made him feel great – he was good at something, and got recognition from it. Someone was praising him, _noticing him_.

It was probably this that gave Danny the boost of confidence he needed to finally make his first real friend. He was 14, and in science class. The teacher had a particularly cruel streak and told his students that they would be randomly assigned their partner for the semester. Danny hated when this happened, because while everyone else was hoping that they could be paired with their friend, he knew that whoever he was with would be disappointed on some level. His heart dropped when he was put with Jackson Whittemore. Jackson was cool, there was no other way of putting it. Even at 14, when everyone was going through puberty and dignity is sparse, Jackson was cool. He had a magnetism to him, that, regardless of how he treated other, drew people to him. People wanted to be friends with him. And Danny hated him for it – for having a magnetism that he would never have. Danny sighed as Jackson picked up his books to move to the empty seat next to him. He swaggered over and dropped his books on the table effortlessly, nodding to Danny.

Danny was concerned that he would have to make conversation, that he would embarrass himself and Jackson would tell everyone and then he would go from being "oh that guy" to "oh that idiot" in his classmates minds. His concerned were not founded, apparently, as Jackson did not say a word to him the entire class. He just leaned back in his chair and spoke to one of his lackeys who was located behind them. Danny pretended that this didn't bother him, attempting to at least be silently cool next to the most popular boy in his year.

This kept going for weeks. Where Jackson would nod to Danny at the start of the lesson, and maybe exchange one or two words if it was absolutely necessary as partners. It started to really get to Danny. He was used to being essentially ignored by the wider student population, but there was something about the way that Jackson treated him that really grinded on Danny. The tipping point came when they had an assignment that needed to be submitted. Both Danny and Jackson had not mentioned the assignment to each other (how could Danny? They didn't talk), but it was getting close to the due date and Danny was not going to lose the consistency of his grades because of Jackson.

"Hey Jackson" Danny tentatively said. "We have to get started on this project soon"

Jackson looked up from his phone. "What?"

"The chemistry project, its due on friday. We need to start it" Danny was beginning to wonder if Jackson was a bit slow. "Mr White has spoke about it for the last month. We have to hand it in by Friday".

"I'm not stupid", Jackson glared at him. "I know what an assignment is. Haven't you done it already?"

His condescending tone stunned Danny. He just stared at Jackson, confused. The bell chimed and Jackson got up to leave, leaving Danny at their desk, shocked into silence. Did Jackson expect him to do all of the work? The difficulty wasn't a problem, Danny could do this assignment in about two hours. In fact, he had sat next to Jackson long enough to know that he also wasn't stupid, and was more than capable of doing it. But Jackson EXPECTED him to have just completed it by himself. He had sat next to him, virtually ignoring him for weeks, and now expected him to do all the work?

"Fuck that" Danny muttered as he stood up, garnering a weird look from the red haired girl hen pushed in front of.

Danny made his way out of the room and into the hallway, looking which way Jackson went. As he spotted him, he started jogging. Danny was angry. He was sick and tired of Jackson being an arse to everyone and getting away with it. Not only getting away with it, being respected for it. As he neared to where Jackson was standing at his locker, he realised that he didn't have a plan to confront the taller, more popular boy. Actually, he didn't even realise that he was going to confront him until he reached the locker and slammed it shut.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Jackson asked, staring at Danny with a mix of shock and anger.

Danny paused. He realised what he had just done. He smashed Jackson's locker in. people were starting to stare. Oh shit.

"I... I'm... You..." Danny stuttered, and desperate wished the floor would swallow him. "Sorry". Danny started to walk away as fast as he could.

"Actually, no. Fuck you" Danny spat as he spun around. "You come into class, act like you are top shit, ignore me for weeks, and then expect me to do the work for you. Thats not cool. And I know that everyone else may think your awesome and so cool, but really you are an asshole. You are going to help me with this assignment, and then I am going to ask Mr White to swap me with someone else. Someone useful".

Danny had no idea where that came from. Later he would blame it on a lack of sleep or something, but really he was just pissed off at the world and Jackson was an easy outlet.

Jackson stood still on his spot. His mouth was hanging open and his head was slightly cocked, staring at Danny. It seemed like forever for Danny before Jackson spoke.

"Ok. My house or yours?" Jackson said casually.

"Wh.. What?"

"My house or yours?"

Danny was never really sure how it happened, but after that him and Jackson became best friends. Jackson was still a fair ass to the world, but Danny started to realise that that was a facade, and the more he got to know the person behind the facade, the more he liked him. In return, Jackson helped Danny come out of his shell, introducing him to his friends. While Danny still spent time on his computer, he found more and more that he actually enjoyed going to parties, hanging out with Jackson and getting to know people. Danny developed a reputation for being easy going, and he became well liked. Everything seemed to be going well. At least, until Jackson started dating Lydia and they both insisted on setting Danny up with Lydia's friends.

Danny was 15 now, and had gone through some realisations. One was that he was not interested in girls in the same way that Jackson and his other male friends were. Two was the understanding that this was because he was interested in Jackson and his other male friends. Danny was gay. And it sacred the shit out of him. He managed to dodge most of the girls that Lydia sent his way with flimsy excuses ("I have to study sorry", "She really wasn't my type"). Eventually Jackson started to realise that Danny never dated anyone, never really showed interest. And he always left the parties they went to pretty early, which seemed ridiculous to Jackson because if you want to pick up, best chances are to stay as late as possible. When Jackson confronted Danny over this, Danny just dug his hole deeper.

"I know man, I guess girls just aren't that interested in me. I try, but they are always more interested in Lacrosse guys like you. Jerk." Danny joked.

Jackson looked deep in though for a few seconds. "Ok. Well you are joining the Lacrosse team then. Meet me at the gym after school, i'll get you into shape and then you can tryout next month for the team. Richards is pissing me off anyway, you can replace him". And with that Jackson walked away.

Danny started to panic. He felt trapped. He was a teenage boy, and being in a Gym with Jackson, hot, charming Jackson, seemed like a dangerous idea. What if he couldn't.. control himself? How would he explain that? Danny spent the rest of his classes trying to work out an excuse for not going. He has Asthma? Allergies to sweat? A broken leg?

The school day finished impossibly fast, and Danny trudged toward the gym filled with despair. At the door he gave himself a pep talk.

"You can do this. You have been friends with Jackson for a long time now, you have avoided this coming out. You can do this."

When he walked in, he saw Jackson doing bench presses in the corner. Covered in sweat, wearing a singlet and some obscenely short shorts. "Or not", Danny thought to himself, and turned to leave.

"Hey Danny! Over here"

Shit.

"Hey man, didn't see you there. Thought you might have bailed" Danny joked, feeling his insides twist. Jackson walked up to him and gave him a slap on the shoulder. The smell of sweat and Jacksons deodorant filled Danny's nose.

Shit.

"Well. Lets get started. Soon the babes will be hanging off you!" Jackson said with way too much seriousness.

It actually didn't seem to be going so bad. Jackson had him do push ups, sit ups and go on the rowing machine. Danny was too busy being exhausted to notice how close Jackson was to him when he spotted him doing bench presses. Finally Jackson said that it was enough for one day, and started to head towards the showers. Danny had inexplicitly forgotten that this was a possibility, and started to panic again. The thought of Jackson in the shower... He started to feel himself grow. He should have made up an excuse and walked out the door. Instead, he found himself following Jackson to the showers.

As the hot water fell down his back, Danny was thinking about hacking. He was running through what he was going to do as soon as he got home. He would turn on his computer, check out a few forums and play around with some code that he had started. Then he woul-

"Danny, thinking about all the tail this is going to get you eh?"

Danny involuntarily turned to Jackson, which was a mistake. He was facing Danny straight on, running soap across his chest. No shame whatsoever. Danny tried to stare into his eyes, but he could see the water running down Jacksons perfectly toned chest, down to his -

He had to get out of here.  
Danny walked straight out of the showers into the locker area and started hastily drying himself.

"What the fuck dude? You just completely ignored me" Shit. Jackson had followed him. He needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Dude, why aren't you talking to me?" Jackson seemed pissed. And then.. Danny snapped for the first time since they started being friends.

"Fuck man, its not always about you and girls and shit. I'm tired and I want to go home and I'm sick of your shit. Your such an asshole. Just leave me alone!" Danny was yelling at Jackson. He knew that it was unfair, but he couldn't stop. And suddenly his back was against the lockers. Jackson had pushed him. And he looked pissed.

"What the hell dude, I'm trying to help you out here and your acting like a jerk. You have a problem with me?" Jackson spat in Danny's face as he stepped closer.

There was only half a foot between their faces, both angry for no decent reason. Danny glared at Jackson. And then he kissed him.

He didn't mean for it to happen. Just the proximity of their faces and the anger all kind of exploded and he pushed his face towards Jacksons. Their lips met, Jackson stood like a statue, unable to comprehend what was happening. It wasn't pleasant. It wasn't a good kiss. Their lips just met, and stayed there. Then suddenly Jackson jerked back, and his fist was heading towards Danny's face. Danny felt the impact before he had even registered that he had tried to kiss Jackson. Searing pain went through his face as he grasped at his eye. It hurt. He looked up at Jackson, who was alternating between staring at Danny and his still clenched fist.

So Danny ran.

Jackson followed.

"GET THE FUCK BACK HERE DANNY"

Danny was listening to a steady beep. He had no idea what it was, but it was consistent. He was lying down. "How did I get here" he thought before realising he didn't even know where "here" was. He opened his eyes, and became aware that one of them hurt like hell. Actually, now that he thought about it, his whole face hurt like hell.

"Danny!" He heard a deep voice. It sounded familiar. He stared at the ceiling, unable to move his head, and thought about why it was so white in here. A familiar face popped in front of his.

"Jack-" his voice caught on itself, and he started coughing. He realised where he was. Hospital? But how-

"Its ok, don't push yourself. Your mum is on her way. The doctors said that you have a broken nose and swallowed a fair bit of blood."

"How did I ge-" another coughing fit "-get here?" Jackson just stared at him. He had a weird look in his eye. Pity? Sympathy? And then Danny realised. He kissed Jackson.

Danny pushed Jackson away and tried to pull himself up unsuccessfully.

"Hey, don't try to get up. Your here because of me. Its all my fault" Jackson started to tear up, which was so out of character that Danny wondered if he was still asleep. "I punched you. In the face. I'm so sorry Danny".

They sat in silence for a few seconds, which Jackson just staring at Danny. Danny realised what the look in his eye was – it was fear. He was scared.

"Arn't you-" Danny tried to put his confusion into words "Don't you hate me? I kiss-. I kissed you. Don't you hate me because I'm..." He didn't want to say it, he hadn't said it to anyone. "...gay?".

"Of course not. I'm so sorry man. I panicked. I just.. I'm not.." Jackson seemed shocked that Danny would accuse the taller boy of hating him. Fuck, he wasn't mad. He was apologising to Danny.

"But. I kissed you. I'm the one who should be sorry. I don't know why. Your not my type, and.. I know your not... gay.. " Danny was so confused. And now Jackson had a slight smug grin on his face.

"I'm everybody's type. Don't lie"

Danny was stunned into silence. And then Danny grinned back.


End file.
